


The One Where Grant Ward Strips A Little

by themidsummersoldier



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Gen, Happily Ever After AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-13
Updated: 2015-03-13
Packaged: 2018-03-17 16:34:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 759
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3536414
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/themidsummersoldier/pseuds/themidsummersoldier
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>/// "i got a tattoo."  \\\ the room suddenly went quiet. /// in which the gang meets back up after the holidays, and someone has a little extra ink.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The One Where Grant Ward Strips A Little

**Author's Note:**

> originally published on tumblr 1-2-15. based on the anon prompt "the gang meets back up after the holidays and someone got a tattoo. who was it and what was it a tattoo of? GO" 
> 
> this is just a quick drabble in an imaginary happily ever after land. you know, the same land where grant ward is obsessed with puppies? enjoy ;)

"I’m sorry, I know you were supposed to get another weekend off, but this is important."

Phil Coulson addressed his team as they were gathered around the holocom on the Bus. It was New Year’s Eve, and the people around him didn’t look entirely pleased that he had ruined their various plans. It was nice to see them all back together, though, after they had been spread out over the last week at various family events for the holidays.

Fitz, Simmons, Mack, and Trip were standing together on one side of the table. Jemma wore a tired look on her face while Fitz and Mack muttered about some new video game, and Trip tried to subtly text underneath the table (he was failing. miserably.) Hunter and Morse stood on one end, both with their arms crossed, and both trying not to look at the other one. Coulson knew for a fact there was an interesting “Christmas dinner at the ex in-laws” story there (after all, he had been the one to bail Lance out of jail.) May leaned her elbows on the table and studied the diagram in front of her intently, pointing things out to Skye who stood beside her. And Ward was biting the inside of his cheek and bouncing on his toes as he waited for Coulson to continue.

So he did.

"We’ve gotten several reports in the last twenty-four hours that our old buddy-"

"I got a tattoo."

The room suddenly went quiet.

Nine pairs of eyes snapped to attention and focused on a fidgety Grant Ward. He was twisting the cuffs of his thermal shirt between his thumb and index finger so tightly that Coulson was afraid he would tear a hole through them. Come to think of it, it was strange for Ward to wear long sleeves around the Bus. Normally he chose those tight fitting t-shirts that showed off all of his-

"Of  _what_?” Bobbi demanded, interrupting Coulson’s thoughts.

Grant looked nervous as everyone stared at him, with expressions ranging anywhere from shock (Skye) to curiosity (Fitz) to confusion (Lance) to fascination (May).

"Paw prints," Ward said decidedly, after a brief moment where it looked like he was considering fleeing the room.

“ _Paw prints_?” Trip asked incredulously.

Across the holocom, Jemma rolled her eyes, and Mack whispered something about “ _you guys said he had a dog thing, but-_ “

“Where?” Skye asked seriously, her eyes roaming over Ward’s tall body, occasionally stopping on places that made Coulson a tad uncomfortable. Grant glanced at the faces around him, breathed once, and then began tugging his shirt over his head. Simmons playfully tried to cover Fitz’s eyes with her hands, and, to his credit, Fitz got out of her reach with surprising quickness. Lance attempted to mimic Jemma, but when Bobbi pulled away from him, she accidentally elbowed him in the ear and he went down for the count. Hunter was definitely still breathing though, as made evident by the whining moans he was making, so attention was turned back to the more exciting subject at hand.  ~~Grant’s abs~~ , I mean, _Grant’s tattoo_.

"Paw prints," Grant repeated, his fingers following a trail of tiny black paw prints than ran from his elbow up to his shoulder, dancing across his bicep, each print about as big around as a nickel. The room went quiet again as the team surveyed the only slightly raw looking skin.

"Why?" Melinda prompted gently, calmly looking Ward in the eye, even as he tried to avoid everyone’s stares.

"There’s ten of them," Grant continued, and Couslon couldn’t tell if that was an answer to May's question or not. Ward began pointing at each paw print in turn, working his way up from his elbow, "Coulson, May, Trip, Bobbi, Lance, Mack, Fitz, Simmons, Skye, and me." His finger lingered on the last paw print for an extra half second.

"That’s disgustingly adorable," Skye muttered, dropping her face into her hands to hide the blush spreading across her face. May nodded slowly at Grant, letting him know that she understood. Fitz’s gaze continued to drift from Ward’s arm to his abs, and Mack was smirking at the engineer. Trip and Bobbi looked thoroughly impressed with the whole situation, while Simmons seemed more intent on making sure Lance didn’t have a concussion. She had given Grant a small smile, however. As for Coulson, he wasn’t entirely sure _what_ to say, so he did what he did best. 

"So…like I was saying, in the past twenty-four hours we have gotten several reports of-"

 

_end._


End file.
